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Lori Saine is our pick for the Republican nomination in state House District 63.

Saine is the incumbent in the massive district, which includes most of Weld County’s small cities and towns. During her time in the Legislature, she’s proved herself an effective leader and representative for the district.

While Saine has solid conservative credentials ­— she was an outspoken critic of Colorado’s tougher gun control measures and a vocal supporter of oil and gas ­— she’s also become an effective legislator by focusing on solid public policy and working across the aisle to get things done.

This past session, for example, she sponsored a bill to make repeatedly driving under the influence a felony. It makes a third DUI conviction within seven years or a fourth DUI conviction in a lifetime a felony. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Another success came in the form of a bill that she described as the unsung hero of the session, which is designed to streamline and clarify state regulations.

“This is for businesses, individual citizens, local governments even,” she said when she met with The Tribune Editorial Board last month. “They would call up some of these state agencies, and they would get a different answer depending on what time of day they called or person they called. The rules were conflicting even within the agencies themselves.”

The bill would require a review to find rules that conflict and duplicate.

“That was a really big law to get passed,” she said. “That will be very helpful to folks starting a small business.”

Overall, four of her bills passed last session. That’s not an easy accomplishment for a member of the minority party in the Legislature, and illustrates her ability to affectively advocate for her constituents.

Of course, her tenure hasn’t been without controversy. Last year, she was caught on camera eating fried chicken during a legislative task force meeting on poverty after a fellow Republican had made a reference to the meal in what critics called a racist rant. Saine later explained she was simply eating lunch, and her meal had nothing to do with the comments, which had occurred two weeks earlier. Whether or not she intended to make a statement with her choice of lunch, it at least showed a lack of sensitivity.

We don’t want to see another such flap, but we know Saine is a capable and experienced public servant. She deserves the nomination.